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Urgent On The Day/Emergency Appointments

As part of an on-going review of our appointment system and in order to improve patient access we will be changing the way you can book appointments. From Tuesday 2nd January 2018 patients will be asked to ring at 8am OR 1pm when our URGENT appointments for each clinic session for that day will be released. Same day appointments are for urgent medical problems and NOT for repeat prescriptions, sick notes or routine referrals.

Can anyone else help? Before you make an appointment please think about whether there are any other services that might be more appropriate. For example, remember that pharmacists are trained to give advice about minor health problems and answer any questions about your medicines and treatment. The NHS 111 system is also available to guide you to appropriate sources of advice.

What’s the problem? Understandably many people are reluctant to tell a receptionist about the reason that they want to see a doctor. However our reception staff are more likely to be able to guide you in the right direction if you give them a rough idea about your problem. All our staff have a responsibility to treat your information confidentially, and we take this very seriously. We also want to ensure that patients that clinically need to be seen by a GP on the same day are able to do so. By changing the way in which we allocate our urgent appointments we hope to ensure that there are appointments available in the afternoon for those who may be taken unwell later in the day.

Can’t get through? Go online. You can book routine appointments with a doctor online, as well as ordering repeat prescriptions. Online services are available 24 hours a day so you can use these services at your convenience. Using the online services also reduces demand on reception staff during the day so everybody gains. You will need to register to be able to do this and our reception staff will be happy to give you more information/ensure you get set up.

If you need to book ahead or get results please telephone after 10am. For prescription or Medication queries please contact the Dispensary office directly on 01442 892459.

If you have an ongoing problem then please try to see the same doctor for each appointment. This means that you don’t have to keep on repeating your story, and enables the doctor to build up a better picture of what is going on. If you have been for a consultation and been told that you need a follow-up appointment or to book any investigations or blood tests then try to book these before you leave the surgery.

A routine appointment is for 10 minutes. During that time the doctor needs to read up on your records, get you from the waiting room, deal with your problem(s), and write up the records. If you have more than one problem then it may not be possible to deal with it in a single appointment. Ask the receptionist if you think that you may need more time.

Please understand that the receptionists and clinical staff are trying to meet the needs of thousands of patients, each of whom is very important. Although we want to offer personal, patient-centred care, we are often stretched to the limit. Please try to be understanding if things are not completely to your satisfaction.